The FISA Court, actually called the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Court, is made up of ten federal judges who deliberate and decide in secret
whether the government can gather and review millions of phone and internet
records. This court, though I know and
respect several of its members, cannot be considered an aggressive defender of
constitutional rights and civil liberties.
Government lawyers go to these FISA judges in secret. Government lawyers present secret evidence in
secret proceedings with no defense lawyer or public or press allowed and ask for secret orders allowing the government to secretly spy on people. Its opinions are secret. The part the public knows is a one-paragraph
report, which is made every year of the number of applications and the number of
denials by the court.
What is worse is that the judges in this secret court never
turn the secret government lawyers down.
Over the last three years, the government has made 4,976 requests
to the secret FISA court for permission to conduct electronic surveillance for
foreign-intelligence purposes. But the really big FISA number is zero. Zero is the number of government requests to
conduct electronic surveillance the FISA court has turned down in the last
three years.
In 2012, the government asked for permission from the judges
of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) 1,789 times to
conduct electronic surveillance for foreign-intelligence purposes. There were zero denials. One time the government withdrew its
request.
In 2011, the government asked FISA judges 1,676 times to
conduct electronic surveillance for foreign-intelligence services. There were zero denials. The government withdrew two requests.
In 2010, the government asked FISA judges 1,511 times to
conduct electronic surveillance for foreign-intelligence purposes. There were zero denials. The government withdrew five requests.
Not a bad record, huh?
Nearly five thousand victories for those who want surveillance powers
and no defeats is a record that should concern everyone who seeks to protect
civil liberties.
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